What Causes a Basement to Leak

When your home was built a hole was dug bigger than the foundation.

• The footing was installed first. It is the "foot" of your foundation and prevents it from sinking into the ground.
• Then the walls are built (they can be made of poured concrete, block, stone, even treated wood - but this is rare).
• Then the footings are backfilled and the floor is poured between the walls.
• Then a footing drain is installed. It is perforated pipe in a bed of 3/4" stone. When these stones lay on top of each other, they make 1/2" spaces in between. These spacers are to filter out the dirt from the water.
• Finally the foundation is backfilled with the soil that was dug out of the hole. This soil is looser than the virgin earth since it was just disturbed. It will be looser for the life of the house and absorb water quicker than the virgin earth.